Seale wins 2nd straight SBCC female Athlete of the Year award

Addison Seale has been named SBCC’s female Athlete of the Year for the second straight year. It’s her third Athlete or Scholar-Athlete of the Year award in her two-year SBCC career.

Seale, a star on the Vaqueros’ water polo and swim teams, was previously selected as the 2016-17 Scholar-Athlete of the Year. She was also SBCC’s Athlete of the Year in the 2015-16 campaign.

Her teammate Mackenzie Richards received the Louise Lowry Davis Award for leadership from the Santa Barbara Athletic Round Table.

Seale has a 3.6 GPA and is majoring in Communications. She’s a 17-time All-American in swimming and was the WSC Swimmer of the Year in 2016, helping the Vaqueros to a fourth-place state finish. In the fall of 2016, she scored 61 goals and led the state in assists with 107, guiding the Vaquero water polo team to a 33-2 record, the WSC and Southern Cal titles and a state runner-up finish.

The sophomore from La Jolla was named Player of the Year in the Western State Conference and Southern California and All-American. She received a scholarship to continue her water polo career at UCSB. In her freshman year of 2015, she was All-Conference, All-Southern Cal and All-American on a WSC championship water polo squad that took fifth in Southern Cal.

She also had a fine swimming season this spring as the Vaqueros went 40-0 in the regular season, won their third straight WSC crown and finished fourth again in the state swimming & diving championships at East L.A. College. She was a nine-time All-American in the 200 IM, 200 free, 100 and 200 breaststroke and five relays.

Seale has been a captain on three of her four Vaquero teams.

“Addison is the best example of a student-athlete in my four years at SBCC,” said water polo and swim coach Chuckie Roth. “She’s amazing in the water and will do anything you ask. Out of the water, she’s the girl that you never really have to check, she always takes care of her business.”

Richards, a goalie in water polo, was the WSC MVP in 2015. She was a key member of this year’s swim & dive team that placed fourth in the state by a single point.

Richards carries a 3.19 GPA and was named All-American in water polo and swimming.

“She is the most coachable, polite, respectful athlete to come through my program,” said Roth. “Although she is quiet, she leads with presence and words (when needed). She is one of the core backbones of the Aquatics program.

“As a freshman, she was our All-American goalie and WSC MVP, then she was called into swimming where she improved dramatically. She led us to a WSC Championship and was an All-American at state in a relay.”

Richards, a freestyle specialist, was a five-time All-American in swimming this year, helping the five Vaquero relay teams to times ranging from No. 3 to No. 12 in the state.

“Primarily a water polo goalie, she swims for the school and her team,” Roth added. “She does not love swimming but she does it for the program. This year, she has risen to the occasion on several occasions. In water polo, she was the backbone of our team. She makes ethical decisions and is a true leader.”

Richards received a scholarship to play water polo for Fresno State’s first-year program and will compete in the spring of 2018.